Zombie Tycoon 2: Brainhov’s Revenge Review

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Developer: Frima StudioPublisher: Frima StudioPlatform: PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita (PSN) [Played on both Vita and PS3]Release Date: May 1, 2013Price: $9.99Editor’s Note: A code for the game was received for review purposes.

Have you ever wondered to yourself what it would be like to gnaw on human flesh? To hunt people down instead of being the one that wields the assault rifle shotgun against the undead horde? Yeah? Well, Zombie Tycoon 2 will give you that opportunity, allowing you take on the roles of different zombie forms in your quest for brains. Even though Zombie Tycoon 2 two does have some minor flaws, this real-time strategy PSN game is a good dose of fun and a solid cross platform game.

In Zombie Tycoon 2, players will have an option to take on the roles of the games two antagonists, Dr. Brainhov or Orville Tycoon, who are set on world domination and taking it over one city at a time. Orville’s arch enemy, Dr. Brainhov has returned from the series’ first entry to spoil Orville’s plans by unleashing his own zombie army. The only things standing between the two are the city of Finkleville and its citizens, police force and military. Even though the game doesn’t feature any dialogue, the interaction and grumbling of the games main characters is priceless. Think of it being in the same vein of the LEGO series of games.

The game’s main objective is to control three different groups of zombies. Two of them are squads which you can use independently or together to take down various types of enemies or structures, which is important when it comes to expanding. Each building allows the player to add a few more zombies to the army, ultimately gaining up to 30 zombies in a squad.

Players will also have the ability to control one monster throughout the course of the game. Think of the monster as like a hero. They are the strongest zombies in your arsenal, and you can choose among four different types: Braintrust, Skidmark, Badgerker or Bearhug. The monsters are used to protect their masters. They have the power to take down buildings or defeat enemies, and each monster has a unique set of special moves to make them even deadlier. When a monster’s health begins to drop, the monster will become stronger, which is useful when it comes to fighting large groups of enemies and bosses.

The level up upgrade ability is pretty unique as well. Your squads can level up when shops are taken over. While taking down houses will add zombies to your squad, shops will allow your zombies to learn Kung-Fu or invoke radiation poisoning. Kung-Fu is pretty hilarious, as it turns your zombies into little samurai killers, while the radiation poisoning infects and damages enemies around them.

The controls are pretty solid, especially when playing the game on the Vita. Monsters and in-game menus are assigned to the face buttons. Players can assign monsters, or bring up Brainhov or Tycoon’s mobile command center, which will spit out additional zombies as they’re needed. It is important to keep the command center protected, because if it falls it’s game over, man.

I did have an issue with the selection cursor, and several times I ended up highlighting the wrong group of zombies. However this issue only really crops up on the Vita version of Tycoon.

Cross play works well, in that PlayStation 3 players can play against Vita users. Not one console has any specific advantages, with the exception that the Vita users can utilize the touch screen. Choosing enemies and scanning maps on the Vita seems faster, however the PlayStation 3 user has a bigger field of view, and can access troops quicker with the shoulder buttons on the DualShock.

Zombie Tycoon 2 does feature multiplayer, and players can go head-to-head against each other in standard RTS fashion. Players will try to take over towns while trying to defeat each others zombie hoards. Even though the multiplayer is fun to play, it is lacking in substance. There is only one map that you can play on, and after completing the multiplayer two or three times, I became bored of the repetition. Multiplayer seems to much like a toss in bonus to the overall six-hour campaign.

Final Truth:

Zombie Tycoon 2: Brainhov’s Revenge is a solid, fun game to play, and if you’re a PlayStation Plus user, why not download it since it’s free (for now)? The campaign may not be very long, but the substance is there and will have you come back to re-play the game a few times. The multiplayer may not keep you hooked, but is fun to try once in a while.
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Zombie Tycoon 2: Brainhov’s Revenge ReviewKyle Spencer, Editor

Zombie Tycoon 2: Brainhov’s Revenge Review

Gameplay

Graphics

Replayability

Summary:Zombie Tycoon 2: Brainhov's Revenge is a solid, fun game to play, and if you're a PlayStation Plus user, why not download it since it's free (for now)? The campaign may not be very long, but the substance is there and will have you come back to re-play the game a few times. The multiplayer may not keep you hooked, but is fun to try once in a while.

8.75

Must Play!

About the Author

Kyle Spencer, EditorI have been a video game enthusiast for many many years, and have been in the industry for the last 10 years. I love what I do and I love, well VIDEO GAMES! I have a degree in computer programming and currently working on a arcade/indie title.